carlgo wrote:There is really nothing else to do but to put him in long relief.

What hope is there for a major league pitcher with high school speed?

There are many, hundreds no doubt, of pitchers in the minors, college or undrafted ex-players that are better than BZ.

Don't these baseball geniuses check out the physical condition of players they want to sign? If all he could throw was 82 mph, then that would be easy to check out. Reminds me of the Ws signing Webber. Didn't they put him through the most rudimentary workout to see if he could actually play a strenuous sport? Guess not.

Well i doubt any pitcher trying to sign a FA contract is gonna do a tryout sorta thing. They probably scouted him and went off what he did with the A's the previous year. And he did have a dominant playoff game and then a bad one after that. Similar to Webber, they could work him out all they want but they wouldn't get the same effect as playing games consistently. It's a gamble in both situations, but 7 years was too long a commitment. Management owes it to the fans to not let his contract keep them from getting other players in the future. There is not salary cap, so management should spend as if Zito's contract isn't there.

I'm not mad at that. I know the media will spin is as, "Oh, the richest pitcher in baseball is in the bullpen!!!" but, really, what else could they do? Hopefully, Barry regains his stuff on a more frequent pitching basis. If Zito gets sharp in the pen, he won't stay there for long.

I'm not mad at that. I know the media will spin is as, "Oh, the richest pitcher in baseball is in the bullpen!!!" but, really, what else could they do? Hopefully, Barry regains his stuff on a more frequent pitching basis. If Zito gets sharp in the pen, he won't stay there for long.

Right...they did this with Cain a few years ago, he missed two starts and it work very well.

xbay wrote:Yep, which means Pat Misch enters the rotation. So here's the new rotation...

CainLincecumSanchezCorreiaMisch

Well, Correia's hurt, too.

So we actually have another open slot. I'm hoping to see Merkin Valdez get a spot-start, but I'm pretty sure it'll go to Yabu. With Yabu, you get consistency. With Merk, you get that explosiveness. Yabu, you know you're gonna get 6 or 7 innings with 2 or 3 runs given up. The reason I want Valdez out there is because you COULD see him give up 5 by the 2nd and get yanked... but you're more likely to see him shut it out with 6 K's in 7 innings.

xbay wrote:Yep, which means Pat Misch enters the rotation. So here's the new rotation...

CainLincecumSanchezCorreiaMisch

Well, Correia's hurt, too.

So we actually have another open slot. I'm hoping to see Merkin Valdez get a spot-start, but I'm pretty sure it'll go to Yabu. With Yabu, you get consistency. With Merk, you get that explosiveness. Yabu, you know you're gonna get 6 or 7 innings with 2 or 3 runs given up. The reason I want Valdez out there is because you COULD see him give up 5 by the 2nd and get yanked... but you're more likely to see him shut it out with 6 K's in 7 innings.

Well, with the few days off they have coming up, they can stick with a 4 man rotation until around May 10th, or so...

carlgo wrote:Did I hear that after all this, Zito is getting the next start?

If you start to compute $/pitch, per out, etc it will just make you crazy.

yes, he is making the next start...so basically all they did was skip him a start, he says he worked the issue out...we will see

here is the article...

PITTSBURGH -- Barry Zito, demoted to the San Francisco Giants bullpen last week, is returning to the starting rotation without having made any relief appearances.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy said Zito will start Wednesday's game in Pittsburgh against the Pirates' Phil Dumatrait (0-1). Zito, who a year ago signed a $126 million, seven-year contract, was sent to the bullpen last week after compiling a 7.53 ERA while losing his first six starts.

Zito was San Francisco's Opening Day starter this season and became only the third pitcher since 1956 to go 0-6 before May, joining Texas' Dave Stewart (1984) and Detroit's Mike Maroth (2003). The 2002 AL Cy Young Award winner with Oakland is a three-time All-Star.

Zito hasn't pitched since April 27, when he gave up eight runs and seven hits in three innings during a 10-1 loss to the Reds.

"I think it was good to take a step back and get objective on some things," Zito said. "I'm excited to get out there. I'm real excited to go pitch to hitters and take those adjustments into the game. ... Now, it's about me sticking with the game plan I know works, staying in that mind-set I know that got me here."

Zito has thrown two extended bullpen sessions that were monitored by pitching coach Dave Righetti. He also plans to adjust his approach by being more aggressive early in the count. Zito said he was repeatedly hurt earlier by not throwing early count pitches for strikes.

"If you're not in an aggressive mind-set, you're going to nitpick, and that's what get guys in trouble, that's what got me in trouble," Zito said. "For me, it's about being aggressive. You can definitely get away with pitches early in the count that you can't late in the count. Late in the count, you've got to be fine. That's when you walk guys and you leave things over the middle."

Zito, who turns 30 on May 13, believes he worked out his problems while throwing on the side despite not appearing in any games.

"I think you can achieve those things in the bullpen," he said. "You put yourself in that frame of mind, you're not in game situations but you still can achieve those things on the mound."

Bochy insisted he planned to pitch Zito once or twice out of the bullpen and this wasn't a predetermined course designed to get Zito off the mound for a while. The Giants currently need five starters, Bochy said, and Zito was the obvious choice to go back into the rotation.

Starting Zito on Wednesday allows Bochy to slot a left-hander, Pat Misch (0-0), between right-handers Matt Cain (1-2) and Tim Lincecum (4-1). Misch, who was to have started Wednesday, will start Friday against the Phillies, with Lincecum going Saturday.

"Location, that's been his biggest issue really," Bochy said of Zito. "He hasn't been locating pitches as well as he can. He's been great about this, working, and he's ready. He's been anxious to come out of the bullpen."

Also, shortstop Omar Vizquel, out all season after having arthroscopic left knee surgery Feb. 27, could rejoin the team within a week.

Vizquel, who was working previously at the team's extended spring training camp in Arizona, has gone through three consecutive days of playing without any problems. He went 1-for-5 during a rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Fresno before joining Class A San Jose on Tuesday night.

Vizquel may return to San Francisco on Friday for evaluation and, if no problems are found, may be ready to play shortly after that.

"So far, so good," Bochy said. "He's playing some innings, getting some at-bats. He's not feeling any effects from the playing time, so that's the good thing."

"After two bullpen sesssions" what the heck is that? how does he work on "being more agressive with the strike zone" by not facing any one? Did he even pitch a simulation game? anything? the fact that Dave Stewart when through this pretty early in his career is sort of motivating.

We're going to have this guy for a long time. If there are corrections to be made and things to be tried, by all means, go for it. If he isn't trying anything and is just sucking every 5 days, then bench him.